Cheongbeom just fucking called out TwoPose.]” For someone who hesitated so much, Lim Hyunsu had acted fast. “[Let’s go watch the drama live lmao]” I leaned my chin on my hand and scrolled through SNS. “[Lolol people been saying it sounded similar forever]” “[Wow it really is similar... This TwoPose dude’s a serial offender.]” The guy had copied not one, but two of Hyunsu’s songs. Five bars were so blatantly identical it wasn’t even arguable. But they were from three years ago, so the public’s reaction was lukewarm. What really made waves was that Hyunsu publicly called him out on Stargram. Plagiarism rumors were common, but open sniping? Rare. “[Isn’t this the first time Cheongbeom’s ever mentioned plagiarism??]” Until now, Lim Hyunsu had never once spoken about it. Because, well, she had her own skeletons in the closet. “[LMAO has Cheongbeom lost it??? Where’s her conscience lololol]” “[Title: Breakdown of Blue Tiger’s Plagiarism Drama For anyone who doesn’t know why Cheongbeom’s getting roasted right now, here’s the summary: It all started with TwoPose plagiarizing Cheongbeom’s songs once three years ago and again a year ago. Yesterday, Cheongbeom posted a Story calling out TwoPose for plagiarism. Now the two of them are throwing shade at each other all over Stargram. But the issue is Cheongbeom also had a plagiarism scandal. Out of nowhere, she listed an unknown indie composer as a co-writer, and people lost their minds back then. Cheongbeom went radio silent. But now she’s suddenly threatening lawsuits? Talk about hypocrisy. └ Seriously, birds of a feather lol └└ Lmao toxic versus toxic └ Didn't Cheongbeom also have a chart-rigging scandal? └└ Yep. She’ll probably sue anyone who even whispers about it later, too.]” The other composer was getting flamed, sure—but so was Lim Hyunsu. ‘Still, Hyunsu apologized and gave up all the profits.’ Not that she wasn’t at fault. But she had genuinely regretted it, still did, and probably always would. “[Title: TwoPose Plagiarism Compilation Tooplagiarist, you’re fucking gross └ Gross plagiarist, Toopose... └ Is this dude fucking serious??? The amount of allegations piling up is insane]” But soon enough, the hate being flung at Hyunsu began to die down. The nickname “Tooplagiarist” didn’t come out of nowhere—after Hyunsu’s post, other composers stepped up too, revealing they’d also been copied by him. “[Tooplagiarist really milked it. How many songs are we at now?]” “[At this point, Cheongbeom lowkey took one for the team lol]” “[Oh, Cheongbeom... Everyone was bashing you, but now...!]” “[Don’t compare Cheongbeom and Tooplagiarist, damn it. At least my girl s every year and lives decent. └ Lol plagiarists are all the same... └└ Okay but Tooplagiarist is way worse, objectively.]” It was definitely working. Even the people who had claimed to be neutral were now leaning toward blaming TwoPose. Perfect time to muddy the waters. But before I could even act, the Noeul fans moved first. “[Summary: TwoPose Plagiarized Kang Ichae’s Unreleased Track]” The Noeuls, tired of being ignored, had simply repeated their earlier claims—but now, those once-buried voices were suddenly gaining traction. When a scandal breaks, people need a victim. Someone to project their outrage onto. ‘Makes it easier to tear people down.’ It gives legitimacy to their hate. And just like that, the Kang Ichae who had once been torn to shreds became the symbol of the innocent artist wronged. “[Here’s why Tooplagiarist is a literal piece of shit Plagiarized Kang Ichae’s unreleased track, rushed out their own release, and blamed Ichae for it.]” “[The person most screwed over right now: Kang Ichae, who just dropped a banger and got accused of plagiarism.]” “[Didn’t know much about Kang Ichae but damn, dude’s a saint. I’d have sued the shit out of them by now.]” The transformation was lightning-fast. From “talented trash plagiarist” to “tragically misunderstood genius.” Even the YouTube channels that had roasted him last week were now pushing videos titled things like “Tooplagiarist Gets Schooled by Cheongbeom.” “[What kind of rookie idols get songs from that guy? Seriously, does their agency not give a shit?]” “[Even their performances are trash lol. Completely off-trend.]” “[They probably just wanted to cling to Kang Ichae’s fame. You don’t get many chances to promote your shitty nugu group. └ Fucking bottom feeders, even worse than Daepaseong.]” And with that, public opinion flipped like a switch. Not that I was any better. “[TT_TT Our Ichae... You’ve been through so much...]” “[Ugh... I have so much to say... But I just want Ichae to rest and take care of himself ㅜㅜ]” “[♡♡♡♡♡ Ichae, I love you ♡♡♡♡♡]” The narrative had been rewritten. The stigma lifted from Kang Ichae. His image repaired—at least somewhat. What I’d asked of Lim Hyunsu had been simple. “Seo Hoyun, you fucking bastard.” Start a fight. Stir up some noise by accusing the guy of plagiarism. Or else I’d ask Kang Ichae to write a similar song and make a mess that way. Two years they’d played teacher and student, and turns out Hyunsu really did care about him. Aside from her history with plagiarism, there was one thing she would never change. “......You really haven’t changed at all, you asshole.” She was weak to her feelings. That day, Lim Hyunsu kept her mouth shut all the way through as I explained what I hoped she’d do. “Composer-nim, I’m leaving it to you, okay?” I walked out of the studio, leaving her still sitting there, head bowed. Whether she’d do it or not was entirely up to her. And two days later, I saw the news online: Lim Hyunsu had called out the other composer directly on Stargram. Thanks to her, things were mostly under control now. I searched her name too. The hate was still there, but it had cooled down a lot—and there were even a few encouraging comments. “[But seriously, why did Cheongbeom bring up such an old song now? If it’s because of that, I’m gonna cry.]” “[I’m just gonna keep loving my girl. She made mistakes, sure, but she’s also done so many good things.]” The Noeuls were careful not to link Kang Ichae to the drama, but some people were starting to put the pieces together. I scrolled through the posts and then shut the app. Time to finish the job—so I headed to the office. We’d made a scene. Now it was time to clean it up. “Oh, Hoyun! Long time no see!” After everything The Dawn had been through, I’d gotten pretty familiar with the Daepaseong legal team. This text is hosted at NoveI[F]ire.net “Looks like you’re swamped?” “Oh yeah, prepping a mass lawsuit...” They were already working on the case. I smiled brightly at the pale-looking staffer and raised my hands, full of drinks and snacks. “Here, help yourselves!” I’d stopped to grab them on the way over. “Wow, Hoyun, you’re the best~!” We chatted a bit and I smoothly steered the convo toward the main ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) point. “Oh right! Are you guys also monitoring mentions of Composer Hyunsu?” “Huh? Oh, yeah, of course.” The staffer tilted his head a little as he replied. “Are those being managed separately?” “Uh, well, we’ve been collecting comments related to Ichae, and some about the composer came up too. Want me to send them over?” He looked at me a little strangely but nodded like it all made sense. “Ohh, is this a management-team thing? Like reputation management?” Nah. Just my own nosiness. Call me trash for using her, fine—but part of me also wanted to take this chance to clean up the bastards who’d crossed the line. Thankfully, most people in the industry knew Kang Ichae and Lim Hyunsu were close, so it seemed like I was just helping out with connections. I said nothing, just smiled. The staffer said he’d check if it could be passed along through the manager and stretched with a groan. “Oh! By the way, Kang Ichae stopped by earlier. Bought us lunch and everything.” Why would he visit the legal team now? I thought all that was handled already... “It took some time, but thanks to his quick response, things are smoothing out. A public statement should be going up soon.” “Oh! Don’t worry—he said he’d talk to the members first, so we’ll wait until then!” “...Oh, oh! Hoyun, your nose!” Something warm ran down from my nose. Even when I tilted my head back, blood dripped past my fingers. I looked down at my sleeve—white. Noeul’s gift. I quickly rolled up the sleeve and craned my neck, and the staffer panicked, grabbing tissues. “Wow, are your schedules that crazy these days??” “Eh, no... I’m okay?” Good thing this happened inside the company. He started fussing about labor conditions, and I waved it off as I wiped my nose. “Oh, phone call! Gotta take this one. I’ll see you later!” Just as he was about to ask me something, his phone rang. He answered and waved goodbye, then dove into his mountain of paperwork. I tossed the bloody tissue in the bin and wandered out into the hall. I’d had nosebleeds before—usually from stress, back when I was a PD. But what the legal staffer said earlier bugged me. ‘I need to talk to Ichae soon.’ The bleeding would stop soon enough. As long as I didn’t bump into any more crazy people today... But speak of the devil. Right there, standing outside his studio with arms crossed, staring straight at me— I instinctively turned and tried to walk the other way, but something grabbed my shoulder. Of course, it was Kang Ichae’s hand. “Where do you think you’re going.” “...I wasn’t going anywhere?” I tried to shake him off and take a step back—but my nose bled again. Reflexively, I blurted out an excuse. “Hyung’s kidneys are healthy, no chronic illness, and I take my supplements daily.” You did, you brat. You made me say that all the time. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk. Good timing. Come on in—there should be tissues.” He was health-conscious, sure, but not the type to overreact over a nosebleed. Even as he walked ahead into the studio and tossed me a tissue pack from the table, I kept watching his every move carefully. ‘Does he... know something?’ The job was done, but it still left a bitter taste. He was sharp—how long could I really keep this from him? If I said, “Hey, I fixed it by using the mentor you respect the most,” how would he react? Before I brought up the legal team’s mention of a statement, I tried to ease into it. “Kang Ichae, you’ve been kinda MIA lately. What’s up?” Stuffing tissue in my nose, I asked, and Ichae dropped into his usual chair and answered casually. “Been talking with a lawyer.” Come to think of it, the legal team said he came by earlier... But still, a lawyer? “Hyung, are you still in contact with Composer Cheongbeom? I wanted to stop by and see her too.” That set me on edge. The blood-soaked tissue didn’t even slow the bleeding. “...Whoa, your nose is bad. Want to lie down?” “What did you just say?” “No, before that, asshole. Why are you talking to a lawyer? Did someone file a suit against you?” “What are you talking about? I’d be the one suing.” Ichae chuckled like it was obvious. “Just took a while to confirm the legal validity. Been kinda out of it.” “...But the company’s already handling it. Why’d you need your own lawyer?” “...Didn’t you just come from the legal team?” Even earlier, while I was talking to them, I’d felt like I was missing something. Now this conversation with Ichae felt completely off. Frowning, Ichae stared at me and tilted his head. Then he scanned me from head to toe. “I thought you were just pretending not to know, but... wow, you really didn’t know.” “Did you really think I’d just sit still and do nothing?” Every hair on my body stood on end. Ichae absentmindedly touched his lips and stared me straight in the eyes. “About the unreleased track.” His expression was almost identical to when I found him coughing up blood during the Japan schedules—just before he collapsed outside the bathroom. “I registered the copyright already.” What the fuck did this little shit just say?